The enemy of my enemy
by tyrannosaurus lex. luthor
Summary: When Darth Jadus escapes custody to seek revenge, Cipher Nine vows to stop him, even if it meant following him to the depths of hell... Hell wasn't available. He instead tracks him down the Republic world of... Coruscant. There, the agent must form an unexpected alliance... An alliance, that just might turn into something...More... MaleAgentxFemKnight. You better be interested now.


Author's Note: Please read and review! Also, anyone who's read the a book of the Republic Commando series by Karen Traviss while find a name in here a bit familiar...

* * *

_-Prologue-_

_That feeling...' _Was all the Chiss could think about when he entered the room.

The Dark Council deemed Jadus too great a threat for exile. So, Darth Jadus spent his days utterly shut off from the galaxy. Stuck in handcuffs that severed his connection with the force. Connected to chains that kept him from having _too_ much comfort. Inside an energy shield, in an inescapable room, inside a max security prison made specifically for him, on the icy, barren planet of Hoth.

And yet... That feeling... That sensation of pain and suffering, due to the darkside radiating from the very atmosphere... It was still there.

"Cipher," Jadus assumed, not even bothering to look behind him to confirm his guess. "Magnificent, isn't it? Outside of my confinements, my power lies—patiently waiting for its master. The moment I am free, it will return to me."

"You and your power won't be re-acquainted for quite some time." agent replied smugly.

"You've come to mock me?"

He strolled around the room, scanning everything in suspicion before answering, "No, no! I was just in the neighborhood and decided to drop by. Nice place you have here. Are you comfortable? Would you like me to bring you a pillow?"

Something wasn't right... The cameras were off, too.

"Tell me, Cipher. Why do you disturb me?"

Alright, enough chit-chat. "You know why I'm here."

"I almost wish I knew—"

"Cut the crap, Jadus." He snapped. "In less then a month, the Eradicators were simultaneously set to self-destruct, causing nuclear explosions that killed millions. The remnant of Eagle's forces made an alliance with the Justicars, commandeering an entire Cruiser and attacking imperial occupied worlds. Information has been leaked to the SIS, resulting in the apprehension and demise of agents around the galaxy. How did you do it?"

"My dear Cipher, I have been trapped in this _cage_ for _years_. My former colleagues visit me very little, these days. I have no way of even partaking in the _planning_ of the empire's troubles. Your accusation is improbable and unprovable."

"Oh, but you are _planning_ something. I _know_ it."

"I am a Dark Lord of the Sith. Supposing I was planning... Do you honestly think you can stop me?"

He smirked. "You're forgetting who won our _last_ little go-round—"

The dark lord stood to his feet and turned to face the agent. His voice still appeared calm and collected, but the Cipher could detect a trace of anger in his voice. "I forget _nothing_. I am eternal. My power is second only to the Emperor himself. I cannot be _contained_, _Cipher_. We both know these restraints can't hold me. Sooner or later I will be free."

The Cipher Nine laughed before turning around and walking to the exit. "You look pretty _contained_ to me."

"Not for much longer, thanks to you..." He muttered before calling out, "Over the years, I've had many dreams. Though, you could also call them _visions_."

He paused. "Of what?"

"Of us trading places. Me, out there. And you, in here—alone, rotting, forgotten, like everything you've done amounted to nothing. Much like your friend, _Watcher X_... How is he, by the way?"

Cipher Nine ignored the question, and instead continued his path to the exit. "Goodbye, Jadus." With that said, the doors opened, and a group of sentries entered.

The warden patiently awaited him near the door. When the agent finally left the cell, he walked with him down the corridor, escorting him to his ship. "So, what did he say?"

"Nothing." He answered. "But I didn't expect him to talk. I'm only here to check on him. By the way... Why are the surveillance cameras off?"

He shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. I was instructed to leave them off for at least a day."

"By who?" Cipher Nine asked suspiciously.

"For some reason, I'm not allowed to say. All I can say, though, is that he was a sith. Someone in the Dark Council , actually."

The agent froze. "When was this?"

"This morning." The warden answered puzzled. "Is there a problem?"

Cipher Nine ignored the question, and instead spun around and zipped down the corridor towards the cell. "Open the door." He ordered the guard.

"Sir?"

"Open it now!" He snapped. The guard reluctantly complied. When the doors opened, the guards froze in shock. The agent, who was not surprised, pressed a button on his belt.

The three out of four of the sentries that had entered less then a minute ago lay dead on the floor. Jadus had the last living sentry by the throat, suspended in mid-air, slowly have his life essence drained. When the dark lord was content, he threw the now lifeless body away with no remorse.

"Cipher. I'm glad you didn't leave without me."

* * *

-_Later_-

Cipher Nine awoke to the smell of smock and ashes. He slowly opened his eyes, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was...

The entire facility was burning. Computers, equipment, guards, everything was engulfed in flames. He tried to move, but a large piece of debri from the ceiling had him trapped. The entire place was going down.

Sometimes he hated being right...

"Shit!" Said a familiar, baritone voice in the distance. It was slightly drowned out by the roaring of the flames, but it could still be heard. "This is definitely where we got the signal. Mako, Gault, check for survivors! Skadge, move some of this debri out of the way. Torian, help me put these flames out! Blizz... See what you can salvage from the wreckage... Might as well get what we can..."

*COUGH* *COUGH* "Skirata!" Cipher Nine called out, covering his face to avoid inhaling as much smoke as possible. "Over here!"

"That's him guys. _K'oyacyi, vod!" -Hang on, mate!- _After several minutes of moving wreckage, they finally made it to the agents position and removed the debri on top of him. "_Su cuy'gar, Ner vod?" -_So your still alive, my friend?- He asked as he pulled the agent up to his feet and helped him walk.

"Will you stop speaking in mando? I have no idea what you're saying."

"Sorry, force of habit... So, mind telling me what happened here? I was on my way to collect a bounty when I got your distress call."

"I'll explain later. Right now I need to get to my ship."

"Umm... Ship's gone..."

"What?"

"Your ships gone. My guess is whoever did this took your ship and used the cannon to bring this place down."

His mind raced to think of a reason why, when suddenly a flood of realization swept over him. "Of course! That's why Jadus needed me!"

"Huh?" The mercenary asked bewildered.

"I'm Cipher Nine. All I need is to submit an identification code, and I can go to any imperial world in the galaxy! A normal shuttle would have to go through many more security measures. Jadus could have escaped anytime, but he wouldn't have gotten very far."

"I see... Where do you think he's headed now?"

"Nar Shada."

"Nar Shada? How do you know?" Mako asked.

"I know _him_. He mentioned Watcher X for a reason."

* * *

Author and Co-Author notes:

Tyrannosaurus lex. luthor: How did Jadus escape? Which Dark Council member was the warden referring to? What does Jadus want with Watcher X? All of these questions and more will... Probably not be answered anytime soon...

Understandible giberish: The entire idea of this story was originally made to be a plot-twist for Ex Nihilo. But since that story still hasn't gotten that many views, we decided to just use this for a whole new story.

Tyrannosaurus lex. luthor: And because we're using this for a new story, we haven't really thought of many ideas yet... We have a beginning, and an ending... But nothing the middle...

Understandible giberish: Any-who, up next, a few character introductions, the death of a friend, and Cipher Nine makes bold/possibly-stupid stand!

Tyrannosaurus lex. luthor: Also, I bet you're wondering why the bounty hunter speaks mando. No? Well I'll tell ya anyway. It's just a head-canon if mine, never actually happens, but sometime after the Makeb questline, the bounty hunter (Full name, Taren Skirata) was be given a huge Task for the Sith Empire along with Mandalore The Vindicated to Kill someone. Moments before they kill him, they get ambushed, and at the end of the firefight Mandalore The Vindicated is wounded, where the hunter has following three options. 1. Kill Mandalore. 2. Let him bleed out to death. Or 3. Save him. He of course chooses the third, and Mandalore The Vindicated later honored him by challenging him to an epic duel where only the strongest rule Mandalore and his Clan. And the victor, of course, was the bounty hunter. Again, none of that ever actually happened in the game, just a head canon.


End file.
